After Amma products in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry to sell Sonia cement

Following in the footsteps of AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, Congress government in Puducherry has decided to sell cement at subsidised rates and name the product after All India Congress Committee president Sonia Gandhi. The plan was announced by Welfare Minister M Kandasamy in the state Assembly on Tuesday. Kandasamy was responding to AIADMK floor leader A Anbazhagan’s question on non-availability of construction materials, particularly sand and cement, during the zero hour.

Kandasamy said since cement was not manufactured in Puducherry, the government would discuss with dealers a subsidised cost for its distribution. “The subsidised cement scheme will be named after Congress president Sonia Gandhi,” the Welfare Minister announced.

PWD minister A Namassivayam also responded to the question saying the there was low availability of sand in Puducherry and it depended on Tamil Nadu for sand so that it could undertake any construction project.

The Chief Minister V Narayanasamy also participated, saying that the issue of non-availability of sand had been raised in the Southern States Chief Ministers’ Conference, chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, in Thiruvananthapuram earlier this year. After the meeting, Tamil Nadu Minister D Jayakumar had assured Puducherry that sand will be provided.